30 June 2010
Two major errors in church history have been legalism and lawlessness. Both are expressions of a lack of understanding or acceptance of the Lordship of Christ in everyday life.
Legalism attempts to earn acceptance with God through religious works which adds to what He requires in Scripture. It denies the sufficiency of what Christ did on the cross. Most legalism is a distortion of the Doctrine of Sanctification. Those caught in this error often try to impose their scrutiny on others and judge harshly anyone who enjoys greater liberty in Christ than they do. At GFF, we reject legalism.
Lawlessness, on the other hand, turns God’s grace into a license for sin. It ignores the teaching of Scripture by continuing in activities and practices clearly prohibited in Scripture, such as immorality, greed, and hatred. Lawlessness is a distortion of the Doctrine of Justification. At GFF, we reject lawlessness, but instead want to “meditate on His law day and night so that we might be careful to do according to all that is in it.” (Joshua 1:8)
These common errors require us to examine all our actions in terms of God’s purposes. As Paul writes, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable . . . All that we do must be done for the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:23, 31) This is obeying what James calls “the perfect law of liberty”. (James 1:25) Each family and member is challenged to search the Scripture and walk in submissive lordship by the Spirit so as to stand faithfully in the liberty provided in Christ while allowing others to do the same. We must extend grace to one another in our differences and keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace while remaining fervent in our love.